Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a straddled vehicle.
Description of the Related Art
A motorcycle has been known in the art, in which a part of the fuel tank is not fastened to the vehicle body frame via a bolt, but is rather supported by means of an engaging structure. One such motorcycle is described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-47403, for example.
A motorcycle described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-47403 includes a fuel tank with a left and a right inner wall that is formed by recessing upward the central portion of the bottom surface. An engagement member having a recessed shape that is open in the forward direction is attached to the left and right inner walls. Projections that project outward in the vehicle width direction are provided on the vehicle body frame.
When installing a fuel tank, the engagement members of the fuel tank are first positioned rearward of the projections on the vehicle body frame. Then, the fuel tank is moved forward, thereby engaging the engagement members with the projections. Then, the rear portion of the fuel tank is secured to the support plate of the vehicle body frame via a bolt. Thus, the fuel tank is supported on the vehicle body frame.
With the motorcycle described above, no bolt is needed to secure the front portion of the fuel tank to the vehicle body frame. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced. Also, there is no need for the operation of fastening a bolt, and it is easy to install the fuel tank on the vehicle body frame.
With the motorcycle described above, however, one needs to first position the engagement members of the fuel tank rearward of the projections of the vehicle body frame, and then slide the fuel tank forward. Therefore, extra space needs to be reserved in advance rearward of the installed fuel tank. This has resulted in dead space. This space has inhibited the downsizing of the motorcycle.